Ed “Bad Boy” Brown: A Warrior Senselessly Lost!

By BJ “Warhammer” Proctor

It takes a true titan, a monster if you will, to step inside those ropes. Honestly, boxing should not even be categorized as a sport. Anyone can pick up a basketball and learn to play. Anyone can put on a glove and play catch in the backyard. Boxing on the other hand, not remotely similar, you can’t play this. Boxing is not a game. Boxing takes a special breed, a Spartan if you will. Boxing can and will tear you down, tear you down and rebuild you over and over again. Boxing can and will reveal the true character of a man. It can be the most beautiful of spectacles, but turn around and be the most brutal, all in the same breath.

Boxing has had its fair share of tragedy. Many fighters have literally given their life to the sport that they love, and use to provide for their family. For many it becomes an addiction, giving up this way of life is all but impossible. Most fighters would rather die in that ring, would rather go out on their shield as a warrior, than to quit and live to fight another day. Unfortunately this way of thinking has led to many fighters lives being altered, if not snuffed out for good.
Over the last decade, many sad stories have crossed our sports ticker, telling the tale of fighters who have been forever changed by their way of life.

One of the most recent would be the tale of Nick Blackwell, who was forced to retire after his middleweight clash with Chris Eubank, JR. Blackwell was in a coma for a week before waking and by God’s grace, he was relatively healthy. For hardcore fans the irony was not lost upon them. Eubank Jr’s father was involved in a similar incident when in 1991, a title fight with Michael Watson, left Watson in a coma for 40 days, and his life never the same.

Prichard Colon is another who fell victim to their brutal side of this sport. A young talented prospect who was being featured on a PBC card, was hit multiple times in the back of his head, and was rushed to the hospital after his bout. Needing emergency surgery for bleeding on his brain, Colon would put into an induced coma, and would never be the same again.

One of the worst stories from the last several years would be that of Mogomed Abdusalamov, who in November of 2013, was in a hellacious fight that would all but end his life. He too had emergency surgery for a blood clot on the brain. He would suffer strokes, remain a coma for weeks, and would in turn spend 10 months in the hospital. Now he is paralyzed on one side and cannot speak or walk.

Now you must understand that despite the horror stories, this sport has done far more to save lives, than to take them. Many who had written a one way ticket to a life of crime, had their entire world turned upside down the moment they stepped inside a boxing gym. Many gyms are dedicated strictly to helping the youth find better ways to release their aggression, and find that they have another outlet and crime is not the answer. Part of boxing’s beauty is the fact that it can be the greatest character builder. It can literally save life, and you could never come close to achieving any amount of fame or money, and boxing can still be a life changing miracle.

As sad as it can be to read the story of a victim of the brutality of the sport, it’s far more disconcerting to hear of a talented young fighter, whose life was snuffed out by a life of crime they had no involvement in. A warrior who did not succumb to his way of life, but was taken from this world before his perceived time, from the life he left behind when boxing saved his life.

Ed Brown, a rising prospect in the welterweight division from Chicago was the victim of gun violence late last Saturday. He would later pass from his injuries, one of which was a shot to the head, on Sunday. Just sitting in a parked car, a random and unprovoked attack, would see both Brown and the young lady in the car with him injured. Brown turned pro in 2012, but his career would really get started when he signed with his manager, Cameron Dunkin. After this partnership, Brown would have 13 fights in the year 2015 alone! Brown’s last fight was just last month in November, and he had an impressive record of 20-0, 16 KO’s.

According to Brown’s manager, Brown was not involved in any life of crime, or activities outside of boxing that would help with a motive for what transpired. Even more perplexing is the fact that Brown seemed destined for tragedy no matter what his boxing career turned into. His mother was the victim of a horrible accident when she was trampled in nightclub in the early 2000’s. Brown was also in two shooting incidents prior to this latest that took his life. Duncan said he tried desperately to get Brown to move out of Chicago and away from the violence, yet every time Brown had decided it was time, he would ultimately change his mind. Duncan was quoted as saying, “He lost his life at 25 years old for nothing.” Dunkin said. “Those people in Chicago shoot you for no reason. It’d be different if he was out there gang banging or running around or dealing drugs. He wasn’t doing any of those things. He was such a quiet kid. He was so bashful. You’d never know how tough he was in the ring talking to him outside the ring.”

Boxing, the world in general has had enough losses, too many sad stories to count. We could all use a positive story, a win for all intents and purposes. So the death of Ed Brown is not just a loss to the boxing community, but a loss for everyone. A young man who was gunned down for no reason at all, taken from his family before he ever had a chance to fulfill his promise. Fighters put their life on the line every time they step inside those ropes. Death in combat sports is not a common occurrence, yet it is a reality that each of them willingly accept. Prayers are most certainly being said for Ed Brown and his family, so it is only right that we, the boxing community send our prayers and condolences as well.

For Ed Brown, The Boxers Prayer.

I ask you not for victory
For somehow that seems wrong
But only for protection &
Courage to be Strong
Strength not to conquer
But just that I fight well
And prove myself a sportsman
At the final bell

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